scholarly journals Effects of Phytochemicals on Blood Pressure and Neuroprotection Mediated Via Brain Renin-Angiotensin System

Nutrients ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hae Rin Kim ◽  
Woo Kyoung Kim ◽  
Ae Wha Ha

Background: The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the brain plays a crucial role in maintaining blood pressure as well as neuroprotection. This study compared the effects of curcumin, quercetin, and saponin on blood pressure, the brain RAS, and cholinergic system using perindopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), as a positive control. Methods: Five-week-old male mice were stabilized and randomly assigned into a control group (n = 8), three phytochemical-treated groups (curcumin (n = 8), quercetin (n = 8), and saponin (n = 8)), and a positive control group (n = 8). The groups treated with the phytochemical were orally administered daily at a dose of 50 mg/kg body weight of phytochemicals. During the experiments, the weight and dietary intakes were measured regularly. After experiments, the brain tissue was homogenized and centrifuged for an additional assay. The concentrations of ACE, angiotensin II (AngII), and aldosterone levels were measured, and the mRNA expressions of renin and ACE were measured. As biomarkers of neuroprotection, the concentrations of acetylcholine(Ach) as well as the concentration and activity of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) were measured. Results: After 4 weeks of treatment, the perindopril group showed the lowest blood pressure. Among the groups treated with the phytochemicals, treatment with curcumin and saponin significantly reduced blood pressure, although such effect was not as high as that of perindopril. Among phytochemicals, curcumin treatment significantly inhibited the concentration and activity of ACE, concentration of AngII, and mRNA expression of ACE. All phytochemical treatments significantly increased the concentration of ACh. The levels of AChE activity in groups exposed to curcumin or saponin (not quercetin) were significantly inhibited, Conclusion: Curcumin administration in rats reduced blood pressure by blocking the brain RAS components and protected the cholinergic system in brain by inhibiting the activity of AChE.

2012 ◽  
Vol 302 (3) ◽  
pp. R313-R320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Curt D. Sigmund

The purpose of this review is two-fold. First, I will highlight recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms regulating angiotensin II (ANG II) synthesis in the brain, focusing on evidence that renin is expressed in the brain and is expressed in two forms: a secreted form, which may catalyze extracellular ANG I generation from glial or neuronal angiotensinogen (AGT), and an intracellular form, which may generate intracellular ANG in neurons that may act as a neurotransmitter. Second, I will discuss recent studies that advance the concept that the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the brain not only is a potent regulator of blood pressure and fluid intake but may also regulate metabolism. The efferent pathways regulating the blood pressure/dipsogenic effects and the metabolic effects of elevated central RAS activity appear different, with the former being dependent upon the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and the latter being dependent upon an interaction between the brain and the systemic (or adipose) RAS.


1982 ◽  
Vol 243 (1) ◽  
pp. E48-E51 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Suzuki ◽  
M. Handa ◽  
K. Kondo ◽  
T. Saruta

The role of the renin-angiotensin system in the regulation of the blood pressure of dexamethasone-treated rats (Dex) was evaluated using saralasin, an angiotensin II antagonist, and SQ 14225 (SQ) (d-3-mercapto-2-methylpropranoyl-1-proline), an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. During a 7-day period blood pressure rose 65 +/- 10 mmHg (P less than 0.001) in Dex with no significant changes in plasma renin activity. Concurrent administration of dexamethasone and SQ attenuated the elevation of blood pressure (P less than 0.05). In the conscious, freely moving state, intravenous injection of SQ (10, 30, 100 micrograms/kg) reduced blood pressure of DEX in a dose-dependent manner (P less than 0.05). Also, intravenous injection of saralasin (10 micrograms.kg-1 . min-1) reduced blood pressure significantly (P less than 0.01). Bilateral nephrectomy abolished the effects of saralasin and SQ on blood pressure in Dex. These results indicate that the elevation of blood pressure in DEX depends partially on the renin-angiotensin system.


1991 ◽  
Vol 260 (3) ◽  
pp. H770-H778 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Dorward ◽  
C. D. Rudd

The role of the brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in the baroreflex regulation of renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and heart rate (HR) was studied in conscious rabbits. RSNA and HR were recorded during slow ramp changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) before and after intraventricular infusion of 1) angiotensin II (ANG II), 2) ANG II receptor antagonist, [Sar1,Ile8]ANG II, or 3) converting enzyme inhibitor (CEI, enalaprilat). Central ANG II increased resting MAP and RSNA by 10.6 +/- 0.9 mmHg and 21 +/- 7%, respectively, but did not alter HR. There was a marked increase of 107 +/- 15% in the maximum RSNA evoked by slowly lowering MAP. In contrast, maximum reflex tachycardia was only modestly elevated, and baroreflex inhibition of RSNA and HR during MAP rises was unaffected. Central [Sar1,Ile8]ANG II had no effect on RSNA or HR, either at rest or during baroreflex responses, while CEI slightly enhanced maximal reflex responses. Thus exogenous ANG II causes a powerful excitation of renal sympathetic motoneurons, the magnitude of which is revealed when tonic baroreceptor inhibition is removed during transient pressure falls. However, in quietly resting conscious rabbits, we found no evidence for a tonic influence of endogenous ANG II on these neurons, and the physiological stimuli required for their activation by the brain RAS remain to be found.


2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (S1) ◽  
pp. 343-346
Author(s):  
M. V. Varoni ◽  
D. Palomba ◽  
M. P. Demontis ◽  
S. Gianorso ◽  
G. L. Pais ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin C. Hunt ◽  
Kenneth A. Davis ◽  
Max G. Sanderford

Abstract Salination of freshwater (FW) bodies has the potential to affect homeostatic regulation of osmotic and volume balance in FW organisms. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in volume balance by maintaining blood pressure in marine and seawater acclimated euryhaline fish, but little is known about the RAS in FW adapted fish. The purpose of the present study was to first determine if the FW channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), demonstrates evidence of a functional RAS. Channel catfish (n = 6) were implanted with a catheter in the dorsal aorta to measure dorsal aortic pressure (PDA) and infuse drugs. Infusion of [Asn1,Val5,Asn9]-angiotensin I (ANGI) at 100, 400, and 1000 ng/kg significantly increased PDA in a dose dependent manner (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with 2 mg/kg of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, Captopril (CAP), essentially eliminated the pressor response to the highest dose of ANGI (P < 0.05). Finally, infusion of 400 ng/kg [Asn1,Val5]-angiotensin II (ANGII) significantly increased PDA from baseline (P < 0.05). The results suggest that channel catfish appear to have an operational RAS and may serve as a suitable model in which to study the role of ANGII in blood pressure regulation in FW adapted fish.


1999 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
NJ Bernier ◽  
H Kaiya ◽  
Y Takei ◽  
SF Perry

The individual contributions of, and potential interactions between, the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and the humoral adrenergic stress response to blood pressure regulation were examined in rainbow trout. Intravenous injection of the smooth muscle relaxant, papaverine (10 mg/kg), elicited a transient decrease in dorsal aortic blood pressure (PDA) and systemic vascular resistance (RS), and significant increases in plasma angiotensin II (Ang II) and catecholamine concentrations. Blockade of alpha-adrenoceptors before papaverine treatment prevented PDA and RS recovery, had no effect on the increase in plasma catecholamines, and resulted in greater plasma Ang II concentrations. Administration of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, lisinopril (10(-4) mol/kg), before papaverine treatment attenuated the increases in the plasma concentrations of Ang II, adrenaline, and noradrenaline by 90, 79, and 40%, respectively and also prevented PDA and RS recovery. By itself, lisinopril treatment caused a gradual and sustained decrease in PDA and RS, and reductions in basal plasma Ang II and adrenaline concentrations. Bolus injection of a catecholamine cocktail (4 nmol/kg noradrenaline plus 40 nmol/kg adrenaline) in the lisinopril+papaverine-treated trout, to supplement their circulating catecholamine concentrations and mimic those observed in fish treated only with papaverine, resulted in a temporary recovery in PDA and RS. These results indicate that the RAS and the acute humoral adrenergic response are both recruited during an acute hypotensive stress, and have important roles in the compensatory response to hypotension in rainbow trout. However, whereas the contribution of the RAS to PDA recovery is largely indirect and relies on an Ang II-mediated secretion of catecholamines, the contribution from the adrenergic system is direct and relies at least in part on plasma catecholamines.


1997 ◽  
Vol 136 (6) ◽  
pp. 656-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cipriano Garcia del Rio ◽  
María Rosario R Moreno ◽  
Antonio Osuna ◽  
Juan de Dios Luna ◽  
Joaquín García-Estañ ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: We evaluated the influence of chronic blockade of the renin-angiotensin system on hypertension induced by long-term thyroxine (T4) administration. To this end, we determined the effects of chronic treatment with captopril on blood pressure, cardiac hypertrophy and other renal and metabolic variables of hypertensive hyperthyroid rats. Methods: T4 was administered s.c. at 0·38 μmol/kg per day and captopril was given in the drinking water (1·38 mmol/l). Both treatments were maintained for 6 weeks. Control rats received tap water. After the treatment period, the rats were placed in metabolic cages. Later, blood pressure was measured in conscious rats by intra-arterial determination. Results: T4-treated rats showed an increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) whereas, in rats treated with T4 plus captopril, MAP was similar to that of the control group. Captopril did not affect the increased heart rate or ventricular weight/body weight ratio of hyperthyroid rats, but it improved the reduced creatinine clearance of these animals. Conclusions: The elevation in blood pressure produced by long-term T4 administration was prevented by chronic blockade of the renin-angiotensin system. Captopril improved the renal function of hyperthyroid rats, but did not affect the relative cardiac hypertrophy of these animals. European Journal of Endocrinology 136 656–660


2018 ◽  
Vol 314 (4) ◽  
pp. H796-H804 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvana G. Cooper ◽  
Darshan P. Trivedi ◽  
Rieko Yamamoto ◽  
Caleb J. Worker ◽  
Cheng-Yuan Feng ◽  
...  

The central nervous system plays an important role in essential hypertension in humans and in animal models of hypertension through modulation of sympathetic activity and Na+ and body fluid homeostasis. Data from animal models of hypertension suggest that the renin-angiotensin system in the subfornical organ (SFO) of the brain is critical for hypertension development. We recently reported that the brain (pro)renin receptor (PRR) is a novel component of the brain renin-angiotensin system and could be a key initiator of the pathogenesis of hypertension. Here, we examined the expression level and cellular distribution of PRR in the SFO of postmortem human brains to assess its association with the pathogenesis of human hypertension. Postmortem SFO tissues were collected from hypertensive and normotensive human subjects. Immunolabeling for the PRR and a retrospective analysis of clinical data were performed. We found that human PRR was prominently expressed in most neurons and microglia, but not in astrocytes, in the SFO. Importantly, PRR levels in the SFO were elevated in hypertensive subjects. Moreover, PRR immunoreactivity was significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure but not body weight, age, or diastolic blood pressure. Interestingly, this correlation was independent of antihypertensive drug therapy. Our data indicate that PRR in the SFO may be a key molecular player in the pathogenesis of human hypertension and, as such, could be an important focus of efforts to understand the neurogenic origin of hypertension. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study provides evidence that, in the subfornical organ of the human brain, the (pro)renin receptor is expressed in neurons and microglia cells but not in astrocytes. More importantly, (pro)renin receptor immunoreactivity in the subfornical organ is increased in hypertensive humans and is significantly correlated with systolic blood pressure.


1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Thurston ◽  
R. F. Bing ◽  
E. S. Marks ◽  
J. D. Swales

1. Removal of the renal artery constriction but not of the clipped kidney restored the blood pressure to normal levels in Goldblatt two-kidney rats with hypertension of more than 4 months' duration. 2. Despite the differences in blood pressure response, both surgical procedures lowered plasma renin concentration to normal or below normal values. 3. Administration of the oral converting enzyme inhibitor SQ 14 225 produced a marked fall in blood pressure in Goldblatt kidney rats with chronic hypertension. However, a prolonged infusion of the angiotensin II antagonist saralasin was quite ineffective. The difference in response to the two inhibitors may have been due to bradykinin potentiation by the converting enzyme inhibitor. 4. Although plasma renin is often elevated in Goldblatt two-kidney rats with hypertension of more than 4 months' duration, the renin-angiotensin system plays no role in the maintenance of blood pressure at this stage.


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